|
|
|
|
|
 ear
Friends in ARCC:
Jim Copleston died on May
25 at the age of 88. Courtly, gracious, spiritual, witty, holder
of the Bronze Star for WWII action, he was a New York attorney living in
a small New Jersey town in a small rural parish. Jim was Fordham-educated
and Vatican II-inspired. In the wake of the Council, he jumped in
head first to help bring his parish up to speed with Council's teachings.
With the enlightened pastor, he conducted workshops on the documents, led
discussion groups and offered to speak anywhere on the great potential
for reform in the Church.
He was named a delegate
to the first diocesan pastoral council in the early '70's and took great
pains to work for its democratic organization. He worked hard to
get a parish council going in his own community. The backlash quickly
followed as new pastors appeared in the parish and the diocesan council
became a puppet. Jim withdrew but then discovered ARCC. His
enthusiasm was transferred to the work that we do. Working with the
Charter Committee, he produced Appendix Four of the "Charter of the Rights
of Catholics" connecting the documents of Vatican II to the rights in the
Charter. This was no small task. I don't think we thanked him
properly.
As he aged he kept his interest
in ARCC. Last month I paid him a visit in the continuing care retirement
community where he and his wife, Catherine, were now living. (She
is the first Roman Catholic who was ever permitted to be hired in our school
district.) He couldn't wait to tell me of the place on the grounds
that he had found for his "meditation spot." I gave him a copy of
our program from the Vatican II reunion day last November. I hoped
that it would help to dispel the disappointment he felt over the dissipation
of his great dream.
Jim didn't see the May 28
issue of America in which Russell Shaw called for a "Time to Dust
off the National Pastoral Council." He would have supported this
call. While Shaw's focus was on giving the bishops a structure "through
which Catholics who are not bishops can participate in formulating and
representing the church's views on public policy," ARCC and Jim too, would
see it as the first step in the formation of a body which might become
a national constitutional convention. At least it would be a national
body of lay persons working together to craft church policy. A baby
step. Such a convention is called for in ARCC's draft of a Constitution
for the Roman Catholic Church.
While we mourn his loss,
it is good to think that another worker has joined the crew in heaven that
keeps ARCC going--a great cloud of witnesses before God.q
--Mary Louise Hartman |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
